Recently, the rise of social media has provided a new creative outlet and an exciting opportunity for digital citizens around the world. People from all walks of life have started posting content about their interests and talents and it’s caught the attention of countless online viewers. Over time, this interesting pastime has grown into a profitable career, and the people that choose to work in this new and exciting style are called influencers. There has been major controversy over whether being a social media influencer qualifies as a respectable career—some cite the many scandals involving multiple influencers or their apparent lack of hard work as evidence against this claim. Despite this, influencers can be very helpful. They unify and advocate for underrepresented communities and aid society through charity.

To judge the merits of this career, we must first understand what influencers do. An influencer creates content online and markets their personality, skill, or knowledge to generate a large following (even upwards of 100 million) and make a living. They use a variety of social media platforms: some influencers make videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and others create posts or tweets that are shared by thousands. Large influencers can even build a viewership that crosses over multiple platforms, giving them a strong influence over their audience.

This popularity puts influencers in a powerful position, which many have used to provide a voice for the underrepresented. Conventional media sources are distant and out of touch with society, but social media provides an abundance of relatable and diverse figures from all backgrounds. For example, Hollywood often lacks non-stereotypical representations of Asians. However, on social media platforms, there are hundreds of representative Asian content creators that break stereotypes and connect with their cultural communities. These positive role models improve viewers’ mental health and self-image and help to provide a sense of belonging.

Representation is only one of the positive impacts influencers have. Many influencers have made a positive impact on our society by raising money for a myriad of important causes and charities. YouTube star PewDiePie takes all of the money made through channel memberships and donates it to charities. With the support of his platform, he has been able to raise and donate millions of dollars. Many content creators also participate in big fundraising events, like Red Nose Day. This year, streamers on Twitch and YouTube raised over 4.7 million dollars by streaming for up to twelve hours. Many YouTubers also donated to the cause; PewDiePie chipped in $140,000, and JackSepticEye and CrankGamePlays raised around 2 million dollars for the cause. All of the money raised helped to provide meals for families affected by the pandemic.  Another influencer known for big donations is Mr. Beast, a YouTuber who uses the money from his videos and sponsorships to help the less fortunate, often donating food, or even houses. These are but a few of the many ways influencers use their platforms to benefit the world.

Unfortunately, influencers don’t always act virtuously.  In the past few years, there have been many scandals involving influencer feuds, hate speech incidents, or just inappropriate content. Even PewDiePie—a well-liked and extremely popular public figure—has been involved in many controversies over his decade-long career. In 2017, he was accused of promoting anti-Semitic language and imagery in his videos. Later that year, he faced harsh criticism for using racial slurs in an outburst while streaming.  

Fortunately, few influencers act in this fashion. The online community helps to regulate and control their behavior through conditional support. All public figures need followers to retain any relevance and prestige. Influencers who don’t behave appropriately can lose support and put their career at risk, while influencers who behave well are rewarded. As a result, the majority of people in this line of work do their best to provide quality content for their fans and act in a way that benefits their online community. They raise funds, support important causes, and aid those that need help most. Overall, the charity and unity that influencers provide for the community outweigh the potential drawbacks of the occasional drama. 

Despite this, even uncontroversial influencers still struggle with their public image. Many people don’t believe that being an influencer is a real or respectable job—they believe that influencers don’t work hard because they don’t have a normal 9 to 5 job. However, working as an influencer can be just as difficult as work in more co. Sinead Norenius-Raniere, vice president at Valassis (a media and marketing company) stated the following about influencers in Forbes Magazine: “Success does not happen overnight. You must build enough content and this process can sometimes take years for your platforms to support you financially.” Influencers have to spend countless hours marketing their unique personality and brand to continue earning a living.

Influencers live a unique and unconventional lifestyle in our society. Being an influencer takes a lot of hard work, dedication, talent, and creativity. They must constantly market themselves to attract strangers to their platform and maintain high standards to keep their fans. Influencers can also benefit their communities by using their power to raise funds for important causes and providing voices for the less fortunate. Although it’s not a typical 9 to 5 job, influencers still play an integral role in today’s society, and we should take care to give them the respect they deserve.